The Excelsior Lounge

[drdos]

Originally Posted by Whoa Tele

I got one in today and played it for about 30 minutes. Anybody notice any buzz/rattling in theirs?

I had a little rattle when the amps vol was over half. Then I tightened all the screws and that's seems to have worked.

[jchowe]

My rattles too, especially on certain notes. I have isolated it to the 6v6s rattling in their sockets and no matter what I do (including replacing them) the problem persists. I have ordered some dampening rings and hope that this may help. I will post my results as soon as they come in.

[Old Bill]

Could anyone tell me about where on the volume control the amp starts to break up ?
Thanks in anticipation.

[losergeek]

Originally Posted by TG

Can someone give a rough comparison between the sound and volume of the Excelsior and some other amps? Say, Blues Junior, Princeton, AC15, etc...

Ya, I'd love to know how this compares to my Ac15 in terms of breakup and overall volume.

[Whoa Tele]

Thanks on the rattle feedback. I took the aluminum tube protectors off but tthat didn't help. I'll try tightening her up some.

[Pointmonger]

Originally Posted by Whoa Tele

Thanks on the rattle feedback. I took the aluminum tube protectors off but tthat didn't help. I'll try tightening her up some.

I was getting a little rattle when playing around the 12th fret and higher with humbuckers and P-90's. Pulled the aluminum tube protectors and one fell right off as soon as I touched it, and won't seat back firmly. No rattle with them off. Looks like that loose cover was the culprit in my case.

[tele salivas]

Originally Posted by drdos

I had a little rattle when the amps vol was over half. Then I tightened all the screws and that's seems to have worked.

I noticed it when I finally played on a wood floor, until then I had played on a nice thick rug and didn't notice it. At first I thought a tube had gone microphonic on me in shipping and hadn't noticed, but the tubes are good. I'll try tightening everything too, and if that doesn't work, looks like I'll be carrying a peice fo rug around with me.

[tele salivas]

Originally Posted by Old Bill

Could anyone tell me about where on the volume control the amp starts to break up ?
Thanks in anticipation.

With my tele, about 2-3 oclock on the dial. With low output humbuckers, about 10:30 or 11 clock on the volume dial.

[Understory]

Any recommendations for pedals to enhance the Excelsior? Looking at a Danelectro Transparent Overdrive - or the Daddy-O. Or would a good EQ or compressor do the trick to tweak this thing?

[Wyzsard]

Originally Posted by Understory

Any recommendations for pedals to enhance the Excelsior? Looking at a Danelectro Transparent Overdrive - or the Daddy-O. Or would a good EQ or compressor do the trick to tweak this thing?

I haven't tried it yet, but I suspect this EQ will make the Excelsior shine, just as it does every other one or two knob amp I've tried it with.


http://www.barberelectronics.com/barb_eq.html

I checked out the Excelsior yesterday in a shop but it was a tad too midrangey for my tastes. I'm going back with my Barb EQ and see what happens.

[tele salivas]

Originally Posted by Pointmonger

I was getting a little rattle when playing around the 12th fret and higher with humbuckers and P-90's. Pulled the aluminum tube protectors and one fell right off as soon as I touched it, and won't seat back firmly. No rattle with them off. Looks like that loose cover was the culprit in my case.

The metal casings around the preamp tubes were loose. The ringing is totally gone now.

[Pointmonger]

Originally Posted by tele salivas

The metal casings around the preamp tubes were loose. The ringing is totally gone now.

Exactly. I got both of them fitted back on properly, too, and the problem is completely gone. I guess that ride over from China was a bumpy one and rattled them loose.

[tele salivas]

Whew, I hate it when tubes don't make the journey, I understand that they all can't, but I do like to hear what an amp sounds like totally stock before making changes to it. I can't think of anything I want to change right now. The Chinese tubes are not bad, and the speaker still needs time to break in. I like the way the lows articulate. I hope that as the speaker gets breathing, that the lows don't get flabby, being a 15", and all. It's my first 15" combo and I'm finding a hell of alot to like about it.

[Pointmonger]

Originally Posted by tele salivas

It's my first 15" combo adn I'm finding a hell of alot to like about it.

Mine, too, and I agree. Funny, this and my stock Champ 600 have been entertaining the hell out of me lately. Not too shabby for a couple of "cheap" amps.

[tele salivas]

Originally Posted by Pointmonger

.... Funny, this and my stock Champ 600 have been entertaining the hell out of me lately. Not too shabby for a couple of "cheap" amps.

Yeah, I got the Excelsior, the Champ 600, and a Princeton RI, and a Peavey 600b for warehouse shows. No 12" speakers! But I am finding that the Excelsior fits my playing style and sound a lot better than the Princeton RI at roughly the same output. I'm not saying its "better", but it's really working for me. With a Holy Grail reverb I'm pretty good to go. THe C-600 and Excelsior don't sound cheap, do they? and they do look good together in the living room.

Dangit...bad picture...I'll try to get a better one.

[steve v]

for some nice beautiful cleans with the Excelsior, may I suggest...

[Pointmonger]

Originally Posted by tele salivas

Yeah, I got the Excelsior, the Champ 600, and a Princeton RI, and a Peavey 600b for warehouse shows. No 12" speakers! But I am finding that the Excelsior fits my playing style and sound a lot better than the Princeton RI at roughly the same output. I'm not saying its "better", but it's really working for me. With a Holy Grail reverb I'm pretty good to go. THe C-600 and Excelsior don't sound cheap, do they? and they do look good together in the living room.

Dangit...bad picture...I'll try to get a better one.

They look great together. Nice little retro vibe.

[jipp]

iv noticed on these inexpesive tube amps. one common mod is new tubes, and speakers.. my question at 15" are there a whole lot of options.
im ready to buy something cheap to get going while i save for a tweed delux.
that barbq pedal may just be the ticket to get me by while i save etc.
iv seen the champs 600s going for dirt cheap. and this one at 300.00.
one thing i notice in my research seems on some of them the tubes are mounted to the circuit board. and in time could break the traces on the circuit board. in the future i for see a market for point to point plugins. how are the tubes mounted on this amp? are they supported well?
chris.

[tele salivas]

Originally Posted by jipp

iv noticed on these inexpesive tube amps. one common mod is new tubes, and speakers.. my question at 15" are there a whole lot of options. how are the tubes mounted on this amp? are they supported well?
chris.

The tubes are surface mounted, not board mounted.

Here's a good page to look at, if you are curious about Excelsior's inner workings.

http://billmaudio.com/wp/?page_id=1203

[tele salivas]

I was looking at some other sites, trying to gain a little knowledge about how this awesome amp works, and it was really refreshing to see so many people enthusiastic about it. Mostly younger guys and girls. If people continue to be enthusiastic about this amp and the 15" speaker sound, we might get some more offerings with that speaker size. I like how the speaker and the open back work to really fill a room out. This is great for those of us who record in small combos, or those of us who usually like to play through extension/multi speaker type configurations. With a 15" , my meathook guitar stylings really fill up the space around a snare drum! LOL.